Why I Disappeared from SubStack for Many Moons
I FINALLY Turned My Learning And Tools Into Something That Is Mine
It's been well over two years since I posted about data science, ML, AI.
I built a following. I loved the conversations.
I still believe in "More Together".
BUT - I realized something uncomfortable:
* I was talking about building things more than I was actually building them for my self and my family's future
* I had developed a ton of great methods and tools "for the man" that weren't going toward helping build my own things
""" SO I WENT DARK """
No posts. No comments. No engagement. I needed to FOCUS!
I spent many months, which turned into over a year, heads-down, deciding what to build and then building.
It was ALL MUCH HARDER and took MUCH LONGER than I had anticipated, and I did go down some *humbling* roads along the way.
I decided to start with [PostalDataPI](https://postaldatapi.com/)
PostalDataPI is a global postal code API covering 240+ countries with:
* rich metadata,
* sub-5ms responses,
* one flat rate,
* no tiers.
I was passionate to build it the way I would want it:
* If I was a business needing it;
* If I was the developer incorporating it.
I built the whole thing from scratch.
I followed principles that I had learned from my good friend's books and personal examples - Denis Rothman (Transformers Book Author)
I ALSO HUMBLY realized that I had to adopt and create a whole new set of best practices for this new age.
I hit MANY hurdles and roadblocks, but I learned to get around them adding to my hard earned and growing set of best practices.
I recently launched.
Revenue is zero. I expected this and am now working to build it.
I'm not posting today to pretend I've "made it."
I haven't - YET!
I am STILL in the trenches — SEO, API directories, HackerNews, building country pages, recording videos, and going to the gym between deploys.
But I'm building something that is truly MINE for the first time.
It feels different. It feels better.
Along the way, family needed help — so, while I was still in the middle of developing PostalDataPI, I also took on the role of Director of Technology for Fungaia Coffee Company, because, apparently, building one thing from scratch wasn't enough of a challenge.
PostalDataPI is launching on DevHunt this week.
If PostalDataPI looks useful to you, a vote would mean the world to me. Link in the first comment.
If you're a company or developer who needs postal code data for any country visit us.
1,000 free queries, no credit card needed at signup, the best value in this space.
If you're someone who went dark to build something too — I'd love to hear your story in the comments.
I missed this community. I hope to contribute in new and better ways and be an ever better version of MORE TOGETHER.
Links:
@PostalDataPI — postaldatapi.com DevHunt (voting opens midnight MDT tonight, then 24 hours of voting) — https://devhunt.org/tool/postaldatapi YouTube 60-second demo —
YouTube full tutorial —
1,000 free queries on signup. No credit card. 240+ countries. Sub-5ms.